Wood carving knives

[Tommyd345]

Hi all,
So I had a question about spoon knives a few months ago and had a fantastic response, so I thought I'd ask for my next question!

So I ended up with a dave budd spoon knife (it's fantastic!) and now I have started to piddle about with some simple wood spirits and the like. So it been looking about and I don't know what sort of thing I should be looking for. Do I want long and thin like the mora? Or short like dave budds? Or should I get a long thin and a smaller?

Also is it worth getting a small adze?
I'm hoping it's all going to fit in my canvas tool roll

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Robson Valley]

I see that each wood carving style has some useful tools that don't lend themselves well to other carving styles.
Wood spirits have or can have a lot of detail, so it's detail tools you need. Things like beard texture, eyes and noses.
Long-shaped carving tools will be awkward to work in small places.

I carve larger forms in the round so own very few detail knives or gouges.
Lumps of western red cedar from 5 to 40 lbs. Lengths from 24" to 64"
I have 3 different adzes: the full-sized 7/75 Stubai which isn't worth the new price.
The Baby Sitka and the D adze from Kestrel Tool = I bought the blades and instructions
to do all the woodwork myself (birch). Very content with the results.

An adze is a shaping tool, not a finishing tool, in most instances.

 

[WoodGnome]

I used to have a little roll of really good carving tools in my pack, but they have stayed at home since I got the Flexcut Carvin' Jack for Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I still love nicely made carving knives, but for touring the Carvin' Jack is just way more practical.

 

[Robson Valley]

WoodGnome: I'm in several other wood carving forums. Nothing but praise from those who use a Carvin' Jack. The CJ edges have short shanks, must be comfortable for detail. The price would put me off but for the value of diversity, cannot blink.
What do you think of the steel in it?

 

[WoodGnome]

It sums up, you know. If you get two proper carving knives, a scrop, a spoon knife, a carving chisel and so on, you quickly reach the price of the Carvin' Jack. Now, I'm not saying that this is THE ultimate carving tool there is, but in my opinion it's getting close. The steel holds the edge pretty well and can also take some abuse (dropping it, etc.). I can't fault it so far.

 

[Robson Valley]

Sure thing. 20+ years of buying a couple of edges each year makes me look like I have one of everything.
The last 5? years, I've been exploring the kinds of wood carving tools (elbow & D adzes, crooked knives) which are so commonly popular
here in the Pacific Northwest, particularly the native community of carvers. I am beginning to understand why.
Here are examples to look at:

http://kestreltool.com/index.html

 

[Tommyd345]

Hmm I like the look of the carving jack! As always kestrel tools tempt me
Looking at the flex cut range. I'm thinking buy cheaper to figure out what I use and get on with before buying quality kit? What do you think?

 

[woodspirits]

my two penny's for what its worth, i use Flexcut almost exclusively. they are ready to use out of the box and offer a good range of tools, used within their range they will give good results.

 

[Robson Valley]

I still believe that the size and style of your carvings will dictate the tool shapes and sizes that you need.
You have no use at all for a 2/30 or a 5/35 or a 9/15 and a 30oz lead core mallet. I do. Every dang day.

While Gregg Blomberg/Kestrel Tool is the top PacNW bladesmith, there is another approach.
Revise the bevels on used farriers knives to 12 degrees (Mora #171 and others) so you get edges and scorps rolled into the bargain.
I have and use a dozen of them = Mora, Diamond, Hall, Ukal/Supervet. Sorry, I have others but brain-fart, can't recall the bladesmith.
Hall (Canada) are $50 each. Used fron a farrier, $5 each = you decide.

 

[Samon]

Flex cut do various sets and individual tools that are very nice quality. I was given this set and it's plenty for a beginner or an advanced person on a budget.




Or make your own..? Small file, bit of wood for handle and some time with the tools.





I quite fancy a Mora 106, but I'm cheap and would probably not use it often enough to warrant buying one. (will still buy one sometime though )

 

[WoodGnome]

I still believe that the size and style of your carvings will dictate the tool shapes and sizes that you need.
You have no use at all for a 2/30 or a 5/35 or a 9/15 and a 30oz lead core mallet. I do. Every dang day.

I give you that. So the question would be what the tool is intended to do. If it's supposed to cover as much as possible and to go in a pack I'd go for the Carvin' Jack. If it's to start carving on a more professional level, I'd get a complete set that I won't carry into the bush. So far, I'm doing really great with the combination of the Carvin' Jack and the chisle knife made by Hultafors. But again, that's just what I carry when I'm out.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

I have the 8cm Mora wood carving knife and its almost impossible to use when making wood spirits so I have a few flexcut knives that are perfect for the job.

 

[Robson Valley]

So very long since I've used a straight knife, I had to go into my shop and take a look!

Pfeil Brienz: not worth it for the up-canted angle of the bevelled edge.
Flexcut KD14: really nice for cleaning out deep V cuts and not at all slippery with the varnished finish.
Moor Large Chip Knife: My "go-to" blade for dragging stop cuts in relief and formline carvings. The flat sided plastic handle gives me a very precise sense of blade angle.
Brandant Robinson custom detail knife: Taught me what a real detail knife can do.

It's common for PacNW style blades to have a bevel on both edges of the blade. You can switch right to left hand.
You're far better off to buy blades only and haft those in handles that are of the correct size for you.

The farrier's knives have just a single bevel edge, so a pair with one in each hand works OK.
I'm close enough to being ambidexterous so quite enjoy using 2 knives.
The factory handles are good but the blades are center hafted and the tip gets in the way sometimes.
I break up most of those and make my own handles. Cut the scorp tips off some for a detail point.
Plus, I can switch a RH knife to my left hand and push on the dull spine of the blade.